Wednesday, June 22 was a banner day for Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna. First, he received the Kelley-Wyman Award, the Association’s highest honor given annually to the Attorney General who has done the most to achieve NAAG objectives. Then, he took over as 2011-2012 NAAG president after being unanimously elected by NAAG membership. It all transpired during the NAAG Summer Meeting, June 20 – 22, in Chicago.

Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler was elected president-elect, Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen was elected vice president, and North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper became immediate past president, all for a one-year term. The eight other Attorneys General serving on the NAAG executive committee as well as the NAAG committee assignments are posted on the web: http://www.naag.org/naag_executive_committee.php.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan served as host of the Summer Meeting, with its theme of “Maximizing State and Local Partnerships.” The agenda included presentations on cybercrime, search engine competition, prescription drug abuse, Supreme Court cases, and familial DNA, as well as discussions with Judge Richard Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals and best-selling author and lawyer Scott Turow.

NAAG also welcomed the third William Sorrell Lecture Series on Tobacco Policy and Enforcement speaker, Jim Sargent, M.D., of Dartmouth Medical School, who addressed getting smoking out of movies.

Outgoing NAAG president, Attorney General Cooper, delivered his final remarks June 22 and announced that a summary of his presidential initiative summit, held April 10 – 12 in Charlotte, N.C., was now available online. The initiative theme was “America’s Financial Recovery: Protecting Consumers as We Rebuild.”

As Attorney General McKenna stepped forward to receive the Kelley-Wyman Award during the June 22 State Dinner, Attorney General Cooper described Attorney General McKenna’s substantive contributions to NAAG over the years, including actively filling the Association’s most challenging leadership positions.

“Rob has distinguished himself among his peers by consistently advancing the direction, leadership and purpose of NAAG,” Attorney General Cooper said.

NAAG presented a number of other special awards that same night:

The Marvin Award, given annually to individuals who serve on the staff of state Attorneys General and who have furthered the goals of NAAG, was awarded to Jerry Coyne, deputy attorney general with the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office.

The Laurie Loveland Award was presented to Dave Cookson, chief deputy with the Nebraska Attorney General’s office. The award recognizes individuals who have helped to advance the work of Attorneys General on tobacco-related issues.

The National Attorneys General Training and Research Institute (NAGTRI), the research and training arm of NAAG, honored Laurie Lyte from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office and David Robinson from the California Attorney General’s Office with the NAGTRI Faculty of the Year Award. This award is given annually to faculty members who have significantly contributed to developing and presenting quality programs for their counterparts in Attorneys General offices.

Individuals from the Alabama, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia offices of the Attorneys General were recognized for excellence in brief writing in the U.S. Supreme Court. Recipients of the Supreme Court Best Brief Awards were: Deputy Attorney General Corey Maze of Alabama; Solicitor GeneralMichael A. Scodro and Deputy Solicitor General Jane Elinor Notz of Illinois; Solicitor General Barbara D. Underwood, Deputy Solicitor General Benjamin Gutman, Assistant Solicitor General Monica Wagner, Assistant Attorney General Michael Myers, Assistant Attorney General Morgan Costello, and Assistant Attorney General Robert Rosenthal of New York; former Solicitor GeneralBenjamin C. Mizer, Solicitor General Alexandra T. Schimmer, Deputy Solicitor Stephen P. Carney, Deputy Solicitor Emily S. Schlesinger, and Assistant Attorney General Lori Weisman of Ohio; Solicitor General James C. Ho, Assistant Solicitor General Daniel L. Geyser, and Assistant Solicitor General James P. Sullivan of Texas; and Senior Appellate Counsel Stephen R. McCullough of Virginia.

The Francis X. Bellotti Award, given to a former Attorney General who has served NAAG and worked diligently to further its vision and mission, was presented to former Virginia Attorney General Mary Sue Terry.